This is not a story about the presidential horse race. It’s not about the policy positions of a freshman senator and candidate for national office. It’s about the enduring character of a boy and a young man, and how that character has emerged in adulthood. The Barack Obama who wrote so poignantly of adolescent alienation and the search for racial identity is the same Barack Obama who learned, the hard way, how to deal with the likes of Emil Jones Jr., a man whose cell-phone ring tone is the theme from The Godfather. Obama’s good looks and soft-spoken willingness to ponder aloud some of the inanities of modern politics have masked the hard inner core and unyielding ambition that have long burned beneath the surface shimmer. He is not, and never has been, soft. He’s not laid-back. He’s not an accidental man. His friends and family may be surprised by the rapidity of his rise, but they’re not surprised by the fact of it.

Recommendations for lunch in Napa/Yountville/Sonoma area? (French Laundry is booked.) One of the diners is a vegetarian. The other is (mostly) an omnivore.

coffee floats tea sinks

i thought it unlikely that anyone would pony up the money for a political spot during the superbowl. i was wrong about the patriots too.

"I can confirm that a round of sniffing has started.."

shine 8/07

I'm still trying to get my mind around yesterday's news that Exxon's 2007 profit of 40 billion dollars equates to 1,300 dollars a second.

dont really care about the world of hobbits but if i did id be glad to hear that the director of pans labyrinth is taking over directorial responsibilities .

first family?

fail

eat wild
local harvest

And this is without the Dems campaigning in Fla.

Clinton	856,944
McCain	693,425
Romney	598,152
Obama	568,930
Giuliani	281,755
Huckabee	259,703
Edwards	248,575

from here

hectors video pics

skinny's been cooking some amazing heirloom beans from this place. yum!

dumpling house on eldridge underwent a reno over new years and i just paid them my first visit. id often go to the dumpling place on allen because it was quicker and less chaotic. its still quicker but the food is undeniably better and the menu is more expansive on eldridge and now theyve mitigated some of the chaos by adding a numbered check system. no more elbowing for space at the counter and hoping to get served. plus they added another storefront so its spacious (by comparison) and the kitchen is much larger so the food prep is faster. all this did not come without a cost however as dumplings are now 4 for $1 instead of 5. normally id howl at such price gouging but ill wait until the move to 3 for a buck.

now ive got to go. my roast pork noodle soup is getting cold.

While sitting at your desk lift your right foot off the ground and start making clockwise circles with it. Now raise your right hand in the air and draw the number 6. Your foot will switch to making counter clockwise circles.

Huh? Found here.

cat acter?

"My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 film directed by Wong Kar Wai, starring Norah Jones and Jude Law. It also features Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, David Strathairn and Cat Power. "

hot hot heat

juno what...?

the C word

(“I brings the ruckus to the ladies”; “That’s how I do’s it, Larry”)

duck!

Googles guru of giving (from Economist)

They hired Dr Larry Brilliant.....and what did he do in the past??
Dr for the Greatful Dead in the 60's/70's, worked for WHO in India on a successful smallpox-eradication programme, created Seva (with some help from the G Dead) helped 3M people to not go blind, CEO of two public firms, and was co-founder of The Well.

Looking forward to what they can do!!

The 10 Best New Restaurants
By FRANK BRUNI
Published: December 26, 2007

1. MOMOFUKU SSAM BAR It’s tempting to choose something else, given how much acclaim has come to Momofuku’s chef and co-owner, David Chang. But Ssam Bar, which began full dinner service in January, deserves top honors for its inventive, flavor-packed dishes and its rebelliousness in dispensing with the trappings that usually accompany such sophisticated food.

2. SOTO If you love uni, you’ll find it pressed into more dishes and more creative uses at this small, sly Japanese restaurant than anywhere else.

3. (TIE) ANTHOS It looks a bit of a downer but the best of its food is exhilarating. This restaurant marks another determined step forward in Michael Psilakis’s quest to lift Greek cooking to new heights.

4. INSIEME Bolstered by the success of Hearth, Marco Canora took his assured Italian cooking uptown and upscale at this restaurant, which is notable as well for the terrific wine list of the co-owner Paul Grieco.

5. PARK AVENUE WINTER/SPRING/SUMMER/AUTUMN The name and décor, like the menu, change with the seasons, a gimmick that might grate if the cooking wasn’t so pleasing.

6. RESTO Head to this nouveau Belgian newcomer for deviled eggs on fried pork jowl, audaciously fatty lamb ribs and scores of fine beers.

7. 15 EAST The space vacated by Tocqueville became a credible, tranquil Japanese restaurant with especially fine sushi and sashimi.

8. ALLEN & DELANCEY An insanely romantic, cozy vibe is crucial to this dark hideaway’s appeal, but the chef Neil Ferguson’s refined Continental cooking also holds its own.

9. PAMPLONA This Spanish restaurant wasn’t all that much prettier than Ureña, which it replaced. But the same chef, Alex Ureña, produced some equally memorable food and made it more accessible.

10. MAI HOUSE By heading to TriBeCa and teaming with Drew Nieporent, the chef Michael Huynh got a more spacious, stylish stage for the kind of Vietnamese cooking he had been doing at Bao 111 in the East Villag

the importance of being earest on tcm now